Irvington Historic District (Tour) - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Cosmopolitan Building

Situated on 50 South Buckhout Street in Irvington, NY, the Cosmopolitan Building is a three-story office building designed in the Classical Revival style. The building was modeled after the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. The building has several key features: Corinthian columns on the north, south and west facades accented by fluted pilasters, three projected bays on the west elevation with elevated semi-circular porches on the north and south ends of the building with two story colonnades, six-over-six windows, and two small domes on the rooftop. The building was constructed with a steel frame and brick-bearing walls with lightweight cementitious coating to make the exterior appear as cut stone. Originally, the building was designed with three roof domes. The name comes from the Cosmopolitan magazine, whose owner, John Brisben Walker, wanted an office close to his home in Irvington. However, the magazine left Irvington in 1905 when William Randolph Hearst purchased the company.

2. Lord & Burnham Building

The Lord & Burnham Building is a late Victorian, Queen Anne Style factory complex located on the Hudson River in Irvington. It was the headquarters of the pre-eminent greenhouse manufacturer in the United States, Lord & Burnham. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 12, 1999.

3. Irvington Public Library

Now occupying the first floor of the Lord and Burnham Building on 2 Main Street, the Irvington Public Library shares the former office building of this greenhouse company with units of affordable public housing on the upper floors. The library moved to this location in 2000. It was formerly located in the village hall and now has expanded space.

4. Irvington Railroad Station

Located on 7 North Astor Street, the Irvington Railroad Station was constructed in 1889 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The station was designed by the successors of the Henry Hobson Richardson’s firm: Shepley, Rutan, & Coolidge.

5. Irvington Town Hall

The Irvington Town Hall is home to the village government, police department, and until 2000, the public library. The land where the town hall stands was first developed by the Mental and Moral Improvement Society in 1869 as an Atheneum circulating library. During the last decades of the 19th century, Irvington grew rapidly and the village needed a central location to house its various government agencies. The society donated the land to the town of Irvington with the agreement that the building would include a library. After many years of seeking funding and a suitable architect, Albert J. Manning was chosen to design the building in 1902. Several wealthy local citizens donated the funds for the building which features interior decoration by Tiffany Studios.The Irvington Town Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

6. Church of St. Barnabas (Irvington)

Reverend Dr. John McVickar was a professor at Columbia College and served as acting president twice. He bought a 30-acre estate between Sunnyside and Main Street as a summer home, partly due to his friendship with Washington Irving. In 1852 he began building a combined chapel and school at the corner of his property nearest to Albany Post Road. The chapel school, as it was called, was completed in 1853 and dedicated on June 11, St. Barnabas Day. The congregation expanded so quickly it had to build the chapel into a church within 10 years. The design was this time by architects, Renwick and Sands of New York City. In 2000, the church complex was added the National Register of Historic Places.

7. McVickar House

The McVickar House is a Greek Revival frame building that was built in 1853 in Irvington, New York by John McVickar for his son. He was an Episcopalian minister and noted scholar who moved to Dearman (now Irvington) to establish a Chapel School which later became the church of St. Barnabas. The first head of the Chapel school and occupant of the house was McVickar’s son, the Rev. William Augustus McVickar. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The McVickar House is the second oldest home on the village’s Main Street.

8. Irvington Presbyterian Church

Located on 25 North Broadway, the Irvington Presbyterian Church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by architect James Renwick Jr. The exterior facades consist of granite walls with a rock-faced brownstone trim that has alternating colors in the voussoirs of its arches. The roof and its tower display French Second Empire Style architectural influences and was originally topped with an octagonal dome. The church construction was funded by its church member such as railroad magnate Jay Gould, transatlantic telegraph pioneer Cyrus Field, and businessman Charles Tiffany contributing to the building. The church has undergone several renovations throughout its history.

This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.

Irvington Historic District

Created by Westchester County Historical Society on November 4th 2021, 3:31:58 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

The Irvington Historic District is located in the Village of Irvington, an area that was settled by the Dutch in the 1600s. It encompasses approximately sixty acres of municipal, commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. The district includes 318 structures, 274 of which are considered contributing historic buildings, most of which were constructed during the district’s period of significance between the 1830s and the 1930s. Also included is a small section of the Old Croton Aqueduct, which was completed in 1842 and is now a National Historic Landmark (Tunnel Ventilator No.16). A wide range of architectural styles are represented throughout the district, including Greek and Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Second Empire, Victorian Venacular, and Colonial Revival. In 2014, the Irvington Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Share

BESbswy